The Igniting Hope Blog

5 Biblical Ways to Celebrate Your Progress By Steve Backlund “ ...He who has begun a good work in you will complete it...” Philippians 1:6 Celebrating progress is part of having a hope-filled outlook on life. It is always fun to celebrate a toddler who is learning to walk, even though he is falling down more than he is walking. We don’t withhold approval from him until perfect walking is achieved, but we cheer on this child who is growing in the gift of walking. Even though I

“See, I Told You So!” By Steve Backlund Those who say they can, and those who say they can’t, are both right. The story in Numbers 13 and 14 illustrates this. The ten spies said they were not able to overcome the giants in the Promised Land, while Joshua and Caleb said they were. Each group ultimately experienced what they believed and what they said. Both could have said, “See, I told you so. What I believed was the truth.” We are called to be thermostats, not thermometers.

“These People Are the Problem!” By Steve Backlund This is an excerpt from my book, Let’s Just Laugh at That!. It is a book that teaches us the power of laughing at lies. To laugh, we need to let go of the beliefs supporting our negative strongholds in our minds. Main lie: I cannot fulfill God’s call because of the people in my life. Supporting lies (laughable assumptions): God is surprised and completely hindered by what the people in my life are doing. Their choices make it

“Row Like Your Life Depends On It!” By Steve Backlund “Row like your life depends on it!” Our raft guide yelled these words to the six of us who were in a raft headed into treacherous river rapids. It felt like how God speaks to me when He is leading me into times of risk and spiritual adventure. God has wired us to love risk and adventure. (Teenage boys especially tend to create stress for their moms by what they do. Let’s just laugh at that!) If we always play it safe, we